Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Since the mid-1980s, the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) had steadily expanded its development projects in the region, winning strong grassroots support. But over the last three years, the group has often been on the defensive. After several bomb threats and acts of sabotage, a powerful explosion in late 2000 prompted the AKRSP to shutter its offices here. The closing was only temporary, but it came as a blow to aid workers who thought they had made progress in overcoming years of sectarian strife. In fact, the growing success of the AKRSP - which has long received Canadian government funding - turned it into even more of a target for extremist religious leaders who felt their own influence waning. Now, the aid group is back at work in the region, but it remains on guard.